Turkey Survival 101!

  As a teacher the three day week before Thanksgiving is great, but leaves me with the question "what do I teach?".  Many students are absent due to travelling, energy levels are high, and there's an overall excitement that can sometimes distract students from being 100% focused on their artwork.  So projects pause for a week and students are given a challenge:       

        ..... you are now a turkey, it's the week of Thanksgiving.... how will you survive and not get eaten?!..                           

  This prompts students to begin to think creatively.  How will they hide, disguise or flee the USA in order to survive?!  We talk about the character of our artwork (the turkey), the setting we will choose, and the problem (survival!).  Here are the responses of some of our Pre-K 4, 1st, and 3rd grade students this year!!

Lego Castle Printmaking!

  The Early Childhood Education classes in my school use an amazing and inspirational curriculum called Tools of the Mind.  The curriculum travels through the  Magic Tree House Series with Jack and Annie throughout the Kindergarten level.  Kindergarten students are traveling to medieval times  through the land of castles and knights.  I stumbled across this project concept on pinterest, and had to try it! We began of course, with our learning targets (the goal of what students are learning and able to do by the end of this lesson): 

 I can name different parts of a castle.

I can design my own castle through printmaking.

We began with understanding the word architecture, and architect.  We then moved in to some architectural elements of a castle.  Our four vocabulary words specific to castles were.....

Tower         Drawbridge         Arch         Turrets

We practiced saying some of those tough words, figuring out and finding them on different pictures of castles, then learned what printmaking was.  Students were best able to connect it to stamping like they have done in their classroom.  Now came the fun part, explaining to the students we were using legos, but not to build, but to print/stamps!  I wish I could have captured the looks on their faces as I did a demo of how we do this responsibly.... They're minds were blown away in shock, excitement, and a little confusion(because legos are for building after all!).  Check out the photos of the process and final products below! 

As you can see we had a blast becoming architects and designing our own castles!! 

A very special Bancroft ROAR to the parents who donated some legos to this awesome project!  Without these parents responding on such short notice to a request of such a loved and cherished item, we couldn't have had this fun and great learning opportunity!!

Career Week Thank You!

Chef Visit to Kindergarten Students!

 A week or so ago, Bancroft held it's first ever College & Career Week!  

We had many guest speakers come to talk with students about their chosen career and the path they took to get their!  The school was decorated with different college posters and information in all the halls and teachers decorated their doors to tell about the university or college they attended!

A huge thank you to the pilot, doctors, musicians, fire fighters, police officers from the 4th district, chef, and K-9 officer who came out to speak to our kids about future careers!  Check out the photos of the speakers I was able to catch in between classes!

Fire Fighters taught us about fire safety through discussion and showing us their awesome gear! 

This DC MPD K-9 was an exception to the "no dogs" rule on the playground!  We learned that even he went to school and became a K-9 police dog!  We watched him run around chasing his favorite green ball toy!  Then we got to pet him!

Art, Literacy, and Emotions!

  Students in kindergarten and first grade have been learning about drawing ourselves, showing emotion, and connecting colors to emotions in their artwork! At the beginning of each class we read aloud our "targets" or "goals" for the day.  Here are our goals for this multi-class and multi-step project!

* I can draw myself using shapes.                                    

* I can draw myself showing how I feel.

                                          * I can match colors to feelings in my artwork.

   We started out by simply practicing drawing ourselves, using ovals, circles, and all sorts of shapes to represent our body.  Then we focused in on our face and how it tells the way we feel about something.  We read the story "Today I feel Silly, and Other Moods that Make my Day" by Jamie Lee Curtis.  While I read the story each student made the face of the feeling on each page paying special attention to the changes they saw on their face.....

 Afterwards we chose four different feelings to illustrate ourselves.  While students drew themselves they focused on using shapes and really capturing on paper the changes in their eyes, nose, mouth, and especially eyebrows.  Students all chose different feelings which made it a unique project because each picture is different!  

We then looked at two pieces of artwork and talked about the ways an artist can use color to help create the mood within an artwork.  We noticed through discussion, that dark colors typically match more negative feelings and light colors tend to match positive feelings.  This conversation also brought up that each person has their own thoughts and opinions about which colors go with positive feelings, and which go with negative feelings.  Finally, students used colored pencils to assign one color to each self-portrait based on it's feeling.  Check out the results! 

Line, Color, and Shape!

Students in the Bancroft Art Room have been busy this year so far!  We have spent the first month of school really focusing in on three elements of art; Color, Line, and Shape!

 Students in the Bancroft Art Room have been busy this year so far!  We have spent the first month of school really focusing in on three elements of art; Color, Line, and Shape!  The photo above shows some line studies we did focusing on naming and drawing at least six different kinds of lines!  Some of the lines we discussed are: Bumpy, Zig-Zag, Vertical, Horizontal, Diagonal, Wavy, Curly, Curvy, etc. 

 LINE PARENT CHALLENGE: While walking around your community, ask students to look around and find different kinds of lines they see in the environment of your community!

Students in third, fourth, and fifth grade were challenged this year by beginning our projects with a lack of color.  We explored the concept of art made only in black and white.  Above, you can see a series of different shades of grey cards laying on the tables, students had to organize these from darkest to lightest.  Next students were challenged to create an abstract piece of art which included the 6 shades of grey from the color cards they put in order.  I found students have a much larger appreciation for color after doing this assignment!! 

Students in earlier grades, focused on the story mouse paint in order to review the primary(RED, BLUE, YELLOW) and secondary colors(ORANGE, PURPLE, GREEN) and how to mix secondary colors from primary.

COLOR PARENT CHALLENGE: Parents, can you encourage your child to complete a drawing but only in pencil?  Encourage your child to push soft, medium, and hard, to achieve three different shades of grey.   

 

Last, but certainly not least, we have focused on SHAPE!  The two images above are self-portraits by a Pre-K 3, and Kindergarten student.  We have been focusing on using shapes to draw ourselves.  We read the story "One" by Kathryn Otoshi in Kindergarten to learn about being a good friend.  On the right, you can see a student illustrated how they could be a good friend if someone fell down at recess!  

SHAPE PARENT CHALLENGE: Parents, when your kids are drawing at home, or anywhere outside of school, challenge them to really focus on shapes they see all around them.  Students know that if they can identify a shape, they can draw anything they want!  Please encourage the practice of looking for shapes to draw at home!

Art Room Organization, Routines, and Procedures!

I frequently have teachers ask me about how I organize and lay out my room.... so rather than frantically scrolling through my phone, and showing tiny pictures on a tiny screen, I figured why not do a little Classroom 101 post!  So here goes! 
 

Above is an overall view from my desk, it looks a little crazy because I did the Panoramic view with my iphone to capture this shot.  I find it a blessing and a curse to have those red cabinets and counters around two sides of my classroom.  I love them for laying out all supplies, but I hate them because they would be more space for students to work if they werent there.  You can see on the counter, each supply has it's spot and there are always 6 containers of each supply ready to go.  This makes it easy for students to get supplies they need and put them back.  This has stayed the same the past three years, and I found that really helps students know the routine.  Theres a small carpet area along the right side of the room for Early Childhood Classes.

Here's the rest of the room, the painting center and all it's supplies are on the left.  The board partially hidden behind the door is where I now have emergency sub plans, seating charts, district standards, and project learning targets available at all times.   Organization is key!

I've found that posting school norms, and our daily learning targets are key for students to succeed.  I constantly refer back to our voice level chart, and learning targets to help students check in with how they're doing.  Each table is a color for early childhood classes to help teach colors, and direct students to their seats.  Finally, there's my wish list bulletin board.  The lower right has an art room volunteer sign up sheet which has been great for recruiting parent volunteers this year!!
 

You may have noticed on my bulletin board with voice levels and learning targets, I have a poster of our visual timer.  I bought this used GraLab 360 on ebay, and it helps students budget their time. Yellow means lesson, Green is independent work, Orange is a clean-up warning, and Red means Clean up Now!!  Students use this to track their time in the room and I find they are cleaning up without being reminded by the third or fourth week of school!

Hopefully this gives a look into the art room at Bancroft and hopefully there's some useful ideas, tips, and tricks in there others can use for their classrooms!

DCPS SUPPORTS ARTS EDUCATION!!!!!

Chancellor Kaya Henderson, Suzanne, Joele, and Director of the Arts, Nathan Diamond

O...M...G...
       (as my students would say...)


Something amazing happened today for art educators throughout District of Columbia Public Schools... I'm still pinching myself to ensure it all wasn't a dream!!




 
         It started out as a normal PD Day for DCPS art teachers, we learned about museum offerings for us and our students, and we heard from AEDC(Art Ed. DC) the National Art Education Association affiliate.  I'm a current board member and worked the past two years with some remarkable women founding, and developing this organization.  I am moving on from my board position, and was asked to say a few words about what it's like to serve on the board, and so on.  So I speak (spur of the moment because I didn't know I was going to be saying anything!) and little did I know, the Chancellor Kaya Henderson had walked(totally unexpected or announced!!) into the room.  Now looking back I'm glad I didn't know because I would have gotten totally flustered and probably would have sounded like a fool!  Anyhow, she came up to speak to the art teachers after AEDC spoke.  She talked about the dedication, and support DCPS has for arts education, she thanked us for all we do to inspire our students, and she ended by commenting on the words she heard about AEDC, and how it helps  us to Advocate, Express, Develop, and Connect as art educators.  She then told us.......

        the district will pay our membership fees, so each art teacher, 

          is a member of AEDC!!!!!!!

I know this may sound small, but this...is... a HUGE step forward for the advancement of art education programs within the district and it amazing to know that just as in the past, and moving forward, the DCPS is devoted to the advancement of arts education across our District!!!

Wondering how YOU can help AEDC assist their members Advocate, Express, Develop, and Connect across the District? Consider joining as an Art Supporter or making a donation!  

Click Here to check out AEDC's website for events and happenings!  

2 Weeks: 5 Countries

 As the first week of school approaches one of the most common questions I get as a teacher is "How was your summer?  Did you go anywhere?".  So, I figured why not share it out with all of you out there!  Paul and I ventured for two weeks in Europe, to the left is a photo of the beginning of the adventure.  We lucked out and flew first class out of Minneapolis to Amsterdam.  I'd never flown first class before(thank you airline retiree for the hook-up!) but let me tell you, I could certainly get used to it!!! Also, let me apologize in advance if this post is a bit scatter-brained... it's the last week before teachers return, we've got some trainings this week.... it's a crazy time!!!

    There's Paul showing probably what my face looked like when I first saw our seats.  My seat layed down into a bed, and I was welcomed aboard with a travel kit, and a choice of beverage.... We even had our own TV's and unlimited free movie choices....... We took off around 7:30 pm from Minneapolis, Minnesota and landed around 7:30 am  in......

AMSTERDAM!!!

Iamsterdam sign at Schipol Airport, and Anne Frank Statue near her house

    In Amsterdam we saw some phenomenal architecture, and museums.  We visited the Van Gogh museum which was a life goal for me.  We also went to the Anne Frank House which was so powerful and moving.  If you go to Amsterdam, no matter what the wait was, I recommend you wait out the line.  We toured Amsterdam for 2-3 days.  An awesome highlight was stumbling across an art market, where we purchase two pieces of art by local artists. 

Amsterdam Grand Centraal Station, and a side canal view from our evening Canal Cruise!

Next Stop: BRUSSELS

    Alright, well, we hit some minor bumps during our time in Brussels. First, the language barrier.  Teaching in a bi-lingual school I've always thought I understood how my students feel when they come in speaking no English(and I instruct in English).  In Brussels they speak primarily French and German, Paul and I were certainly at a disadvantage.   We made it through, but at times, it certainly posed a new challenge and I now have actually experienced that feeling, which students who enter my classroom feel.  

     I had no idea that the day we arrived to Brussels by train, was their National Liberation day!  This was great because there was a parade, and festival in the local park however, we found out that once you are in that festival and the parade starts, you're there for the entire 3.5 hour parade.  So we got trapped in the park, where we saw glimpses of the parade, local food, and celebrations. Of course... we had to have a Belgian waffle!

Waffle time, Liberation Day Festival, and Sculptural Detail of local Architecture

     After the experience of the parade, we ventured out for dinner, ended the evening, and made out plans to visit the city center the following day.  We ventured out to the city center and meandered around.  Brussels is a rather small town, so we weren't worried about getting lost! I really cant use words to describe how breathtaking the city center was.  To have a city, so old, which survived war, and have the buildings still in tact and original, is insane.  Around the USA I feel like we are quick to scrap the old, and bring in the new, but Brussels was a city which really froze their architectural style in time, and it stays the same today.

City Center Architecture Close-Up

City Center, Where we found some more original ART!

Next Stop: LONDON!

We arrived in wonderful London, England a city mid-evening, found dinner, and began our plan of attack to ensure in our 4 days there involved everything we wanted to do and see.  Let me tell you, it was A TON of stuff. 

  While traveling around London, we saw...... (here comes the list!)... Harrods, Buckingham Palace, The Tate Modern, Piccadilly Circus,  London Bridge, The Tower of London, Chelsea Football Club Stadium, The Lord Cricket Grounds, Wimbledon, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben and Parliament, A Marvel Movie Red Carpet Premier, The Globe Theater, St. Paul's Cathedral, and so much more!

Press Room, Chelsea Football Club Stadium

London Bridge, Paul and I with Big Ben in the Background

   While we were visiting the Tower of London, there were two cool moments!  One, was while we were awaiting the tour to begin, Paul kept staring a me leaning against a wall, then staring at the kids on one side of me, and then staring at the very tall man besides me on the other side.  I couldn't figure it out and finally, he sends me a message saying "I think that guy is Seal, the guy Heidi Klum was with.... and their kids..." So of course, I glance and realize it is! So that was just a fun little event!  Also during our visit to The Tower of London was the installation occurring of roughly 889,000 metal poppies in the moat and surrounding areas of the Tower.  This is a commemoration of all soldiers who fought in the war.  It was remarkable to see such a large scale installation happening all due to volunteers helping an artist create their vision.  Check out the images below of the progress so far! 

Tower of London, Poppy Installations

And now...... a quick connection in WALES, 

3 trains and a ferry to.... IRELAND.... 

1 last train to SLIGO!

   When I was a Junior in college I took the amazing opportunity to study abroad in Dublin, Ireland where I met Aine.  She was my Irish roommate while I studied abroad and meeting her and her family was so welcoming and helpful.  Aine was my home away from home, she was my friend, my sister, and my best friend while I was abroad.  That being said, Aine and her family live in Sligo, Ireland so when Paul and I decided we were going to end our trip in Ireland, going to Sligo was absolutely going to happen.  We got to Sligo and spent time with Aine's parents and her awesome sister Emer, and boyfriend.  They took us around to all the Sligo sights including Strandhill Beach a place I visited 5 years ago.  We went to the local Sligo soccer team match where they even gave us a shout-out for coming all the way from Washington DC!  It was an amazing time, in a place I called home.  

Our Irish Traffic Jam, and the four of us!

How can you not love Ireland?

    After a few days in Sligo, we ventured back to Dublin, which I know and remember so well.  I took Paul to my favorite spots, most specifically Bewley's Cafe on Grafton street.  We even got my favorite spot by the window which overlooks on the street performers.  We went to Jameson, Guinness, Trinity, Dublin Castle, Stephens Green, Kilmainham Gaol(jail),and much more.  It was incredible to be back in that space that I called home for 5-6 months while in college.  I was surprised at how quickly I picked up and remembered the local terms, streets, and ways to get around.  It was great to end in a city I knew so well, and I made sure to stock up on my favorite European candy and foods!  

Dublin Castle, Kilmainham Gaol, My Bewleys Spot View of Grafton Street

  So there it is, that's the most exciting part of my summer vacation I'd say.  Although it was only two weeks, it was certainly a non-stop, busy but amazing experience.  So parents, students, friends, and followers.... what did you do this summer vacation?!

Summer Artist Spotlight Opportunity!

Hey Parents! 
             I hope you're having a wonderful start to your summer vacation.  Whether you and your family are travelling, participating in summer school, camps, or just staying around to enjoy and explore DC, don't forget to encourage your kids to MAKE SOME ART!  

Over this summer, if you e-mail me an image of your child's art and a little written blurb, I'll be featuring students each week(assuming I receive entries).  This is a great opportunity to encourage and foster a love and appreciation for art outside of the classroom.  Consider visiting one of the many museums in our area, and use your trip as inspiration for creation!

Please send entries to: 

msfoysartroom@gmail.com with the subject line of "Summer Artist Spotlight".  

Be sure to include a small write up about what inspired the artist to create this piece and even include some direct quotes from the artist themselves!!  Let's see how many artists we can catch in action this summer from our school!! 

Vincent Van Gogh's Cat!

I purchased this book my first year of teaching, and stumbled across it again this year while searching for a different book.  It instantly sparked my interest and I thought, "how did I forget about this book?!".  The story Vincent Van Gogh's Cat is unique because it is written and illustrated by a class of second grade students in Indiana.  The pictures are colorful, creative, and bold which naturally draws students attention. It's also great because it incorporates some reproductions of other famous pieces of art.  We read the book as a class, travelling with Van Gogh's cat through fields of sunflowers(Van Gogh), through a friends pond of water lillies(Monet), we met three musicians(Picasso), and ended up in a starry night(Van Gogh).  At the end of the story, students were asked, "If you could take Vincent Van Gogh's cat somewhere, where would you take it?".  Below are just four of the awesome pieces made with water color crayons by Pre-K students.  Hopefully I will have more to post 

                                              from the Pre-School, Pre-K, adn Kindergarten students later on!  Enjoy!!

"I took Vincent Van Gogh's Cat to a forest, in a boat, on a ocean!" -Hailey

"I take him to the mountains, and I have flowers, and he's up there and you can see the sun, and I'm blue in the corner!"-Felicity

 

 

"This cat is up in the sky at the desert, you see my sand and cactus plant things?  They're sharp don't touch them!"-Lucas

"I took Van Gogh's cat to the desert but it's purples and reds because of the sun."-Anna

Hmmm.... what am I teaching Pre-School today?

    It's getting to be the end of the year and I've found myself sitting and thinking "what the heck can I do with my youngest students to have some fun and get messy?"  Well, I usually end up staring at my shelves, and neatly labeled supplies.  I just find I start throwing things on the table and letting the students have some creative exploration. 
   To the left, is an image of my completed example, and the variety of supplies provided for students.  You can see it's the primary colors of paint, in addition to black and white, some foam letters/numbers, stamps, paintbrushes, and yes, starbucks frappachino lids. 
   I went over how to use the various supplies with students to do a semi printmaking/free create project.  It was remarkable to listen to the students discover new ways of using all of these supplies which I hadn't even thought of myself!
    Take a look at some of these awesome students in action, and check out their artwork!

ARTventure DC: CLAIM YOUR SPOT NOW!

Interested in enrolling your child in a fun week with Ms.  Foy!?  E-mail NOW to reserve your spot!  Enrollment is now accepted from Bancroft families and other families within the District of Columbia!  

E-mail: msfoysartroom@gmail.com

***SESSION 3 IS NOW FULL***SESSION 3 IS NOW FULL***SESSION 3 IS NOW FULL***

Drawing on BLACK paper?

I've been trying to think of ways to push my student's out of their comfort zones.  Now I know, you might be wondering why push them out of their comfort zone, but really this assignment helped students turn their typical ways of thinking and creating around and expand their problem solving capabilities. So what did I choose as a challenge for students this week? 

First, students were given black construction paper instead of white to use as their background.  This really threw them off.  Second, I gave students chalk pastels to use.  Most students have never used these before, and they are certainly a material which you need to adjust to.  Chalk Pastel is dusty, messy, smear-able, and more challenging to control... 

Now....when you put these two challenges together, black paper and chalk pastel, you get AMAZING final products!

 

 Students quickly realized how the black paper really intensifies the colors of the chalk pastel.  Students also began to really use the skills taught on breaking things down into shapes, and then beginning to draw.  Students began to also, cope with "mess-ups" and "mistakes" through creative problem solving.  This was such a great one day, quick observational drawing project!